Methodology version WSCC-AA 1.0 (Scoring Logic Matrix V1)

How sites are assessed

This is an operational assessment and decision-support tool. It summarises recorded evidence; it does not automatically recommend equipment replacement, and it never implies a repair, diagnosis or operational state the evidence does not establish. Every rule below is applied identically to every site and is defined in a single configuration.

What each score measures

• Condition Score (0–100) — observed condition from recorded evidence. Higher is better. Points achieved ÷ available assessable points × 100.
• Investment Priority (0–100) — how strongly the site merits WSCC's consideration. Higher means greater priority. Not an instruction to replace equipment.
• Assessment Coverage (%) — weight of assessed tests ÷ total applicable test weight. High ≥90%, Moderate ≥75%, below 75% Low / Provisional. A high score with low coverage is always flagged and never shown as equivalent to a fully evidenced score.

Component weights and point allocations

Technical thresholds

Counter type selects which thresholds apply. It is never an age penalty: a functioning Type F scores the same as a functioning BlackCat.

Some BlackCat counters run on 6V batteries; the voltage system is taken from the recorded counter type (e.g. “BlackCat (6v)”), then from recorded readings. Battery and solar voltages were measured disconnected and are snapshots, not measures of battery health or capacity. Signal strength measures reception, not bandwidth. Signal values converted by Excel into dates are recovered only where unambiguous (“11-20”); otherwise they are marked unclassified — a reading is never invented.

Component traffic lights

• Precedence: Red (confirmed significant failure) → Amber (partial functionality / observed concern) → Green (all essential evidence healthy) → Grey (insufficient evidence). Grey is never shown as green.
• Road loops: red if any expected loop fails continuity; amber if all pass but visual condition is Average/Bad; green if all pass with Good/OK. The score reflects the proportion of failed loops.
• Counter: red if it fails the independent power-on test or no lane cards indicate correctly (with loops intact); amber for a partly/fully unresponsive front panel or a documented intermittent issue. An RMA never turns an otherwise healthy counter red.
• Communications: red only for a confirmed inability to transmit where testing was meaningful; amber when transmitting with moderate/poor signal or documented intermittent connectivity; green when transmitting with good signal. A strong signal never overrides a confirmed transmission failure.
• Power & Solar: combines batteries, each panel, wiring and (legacy 6V only) the inverter. 12V installations are never penalised for having no inverter.
• Cabinet & Site: cosmetic and maintenance observations (vegetation, dirt, pests) are amber and do not by themselves create a repair requirement.

Hierarchical testing and Assessment Coverage

• Not Assessable — a prerequisite failed (e.g. the counter did not power on, so front panel, lane cards and communications could not be tested). Excluded from the score denominator, reduces coverage, reason recorded. Downstream tests are never counted as separate failures.
• Not Recorded — missing without explanation. Excluded from the denominator, reduces coverage, raises a data-quality warning.
• Not Applicable — genuinely does not apply (e.g. inverter on a 12V site). Excluded from both score and coverage.
• Provisional — coverage below 75%, or a critical test (counter power-on, expected loop continuity, data transmission) missing without explanation.
• Untested components are never assumed to have failed.

How Final Notes are used

Final Notes are treated as evidence through a transparent, deterministic rule set (no external AI). Evidence hierarchy: recorded technical tests → explicit notes describing the final verified condition → explicit intervention selections and repair requirements. Hedged wording (“could”, “possibly”, “may”, “likely”, “recommend”, “if”…) never creates a confirmed fault or requirement — it is flagged for review. Where notes and structured answers conflict, both are preserved and a validation warning is raised; original data is never rewritten.

• Resolved faults: if a test initially failed but the notes confirm successful restart / known-good-power retest, the final verified condition is scored and the initial failure kept in the audit trail.
• Intermittent faults confirmed in the notes make the component amber unless a significant confirmed failure warrants red.
• Explicit repair requirements in the notes count as interventions even when the checklist is blank, and are never counted twice. Repairs completed during the visit are not outstanding.

Interventions and Investment Priority

A blank repair checklist means no specific repairs were identified — not that the appraisal is incomplete. Interventions are classified as None Identified, Potential Routine, Specialist (RMA), Mixed, or Further Investigation.

Burden values are provisional and configurable until WSCC agrees intervention costs; they are not quotes. Only confirmed (outstanding) interventions add burden — uncertain and completed ones are listed but not counted. A score threshold never triggers a replacement recommendation.

Why equipment age is not penalised

Age does not, by itself, evidence a fault. A functioning legacy counter that passes its tests is in satisfactory condition. Counter type is used only to choose the correct technical thresholds (e.g. 6V or 12V, signal scale).

Limitations

• Results reflect a single site visit and the engineer's recorded observations.
• Voltage readings are snapshots; they are not load tests or capacity measurements.
• An RMA indicates specialist assessment is likely needed; it does not confirm an internal fault, prove the counter cannot record traffic, or guarantee repair.
• Notes interpretation recognises explicit, well-defined patterns only. Ambiguous text is retained verbatim and flagged rather than interpreted.
• Intervention burden and priority weights are provisional.